Opinion | American journalists aboard China's high-speed train on scenic route to the Olympic venue

By Augustus K. Yeung

Introduction

America's short-sighted and narrow-minded political leaders don't know what they have missed by boycotting Beijing Winter Olympics: The scenic views, as described by the two American reporters, along the high-speed rail line from Beijing to the sports venue; the high-risk spectacular ski flips and jumps; the figure skating leaps and spins that shatter the old Olympics' records; and the joy that the world is watching.

All these warm the viewers' hearts and fill their eyes with tears of winter wonderment--as the apolitical athletics from all over the world demonstrate unity, solidarity and share their sense of triumphs and tribulations.

The Train Glided into a Tunnel Beneath the Great Wall

"We hurtled past rows of new apartment blocks on the outskirts of Beijing. The train glided into a tunnel 1,400 feet beneath the Great Wall of China, and emerged onto a plain where the 110-foot-long blades of hundreds of wind turbines towered over rows of newly planted pines." Two American reporters, Christ Buckley and James Hill, started enthusiastically describing their exciting high-speed train ride. ("Aboard China's fastest Olympics showcase". The New York Times. Monday, February 21, 2022)

This is the passing panorama on the high-speed train from Beijing to the Taiziecheng mountain venue of the 2022 Winter Olympics, and like the Games itself, this 50-minute journey was designed to impress with a story of China's progress.

Journalists covering the Olympics, which ended Sunday, were escorted from hotel to media center to sports venue in special buses, taxis and train carriages, in line with China's zero-Covid strategy of trying to eliminate infections. Unable to venture around, we peered out of sealed windows, hungry for scenes of life, especially on the train line of about 110 miles, or 180 kilometers, to Taizicheng, near where many of the ski events took place.

While China sought to wow global audiences with its gold medal count, it also used these Games to promote its broader economic, environmental and technological ambitions. The high-speed rail line was a centerpiece, displaying several goals that the Chinese Communist Party leaders have promised: urban growth, clean energy and less pollution, and – above all – impeccable, on-time order.

The View Along the Route: A Village Where Horses Work the Fields…

"The view along the route, though, also offered glimpses of the industrial and rural past that China wants to escape: a village where horses work the fields, or a factory, gutted and abandoned."

Guard post dotting the rail line testified to the Chinese government's gnawing anxieties about security, even in remote villages. We passed tiny guard outposts set up to ensure that the Olympics were free of threats.

"Our trip began at Qinghe Station in north Beijing, where staff members in blue uniforms and protective masks and goggles ushered us into the Olympics-only waiting area and then onto the 'Snow Dream' train."

High-speed Rail Service Would "Bear Witness to the Leap in China's Strength"

For China's leaders, high-speed rail expansion has been a source of national pride and considerable expense. This line from Beijing to Taizicheng and nearby Zhangjiakou, built to serve the Winter Olympics, has a total official cost of close to $10 billion. Even on normal high-speed trains in China, the attendants display neat discipline – perfect posture, tidy uniforms – and that's extra true on this route.

The high-speed rail service to the Winter Games venues would "bear witness to the leap in China's general national strength," President Xi said in late 2019, when the line was officially completed.

"Minutes out from Beijing, we slipped into the darkness of a 7.5 mile-long tunnel dug out of a granite hill. We were underneath a section of the Great Wall, the network of fortifications that emperors built over the centuries to keep out marauders. Rail needs straight track to run fast – no abrupt turns or dips – and Chinese engineers lead the world in building tunnels and bridges that slice through hills and valleys."

Sky was "a Light Blue and the Fields were White with Recent Snow"

"When we re-entered daylight five minutes later, the sky was a light blue and the fields were white with recent snow. Ten years ago, the sky was more likely to be a smoggy brown-gray at this time of year, stained by pollution from industry and heating. We neared Hebei Province, long a home for coal plants, steel mills and smoke-belching factories that neighboring Beijing no longer wanted."

Now, though, the province is trying to reduce polluting industry, and the rail line is set with scenes from China's clean-energy future. Dozens of wind-power turbines have been erected near the Guanting Reservoir… Solar panels blanket the lower stretches of nearby hillsides.

China promised a "green" Olympics, and the power companies fulfilling that vow have made sure that travelers saw their efforts in action from the train window.

"Now on the flattest stretch of the journey, the train accelerated: 207, then 209 and then 211 miles an hour, the notice board at the front of the carriage indicated. It was a little below the maximum 217 m.p.h. (350 kilometers an hour) that engineers said the train could reach."

Urbanization Has Left Countryside with Few Young People

Ribbons of expressway and power lines crisscross the countryside too, and the high-speed line at times runs parallel to tracks for an additional six trains. China's leaders have been investing heavily in rail and other infrastructure for decades to drive growth and connect the country into a close-knit whole. Xi has accelerated that effort.

But we also passed through countryside where horses and donkeys still work the fields. Over a third of China's people live in the country by official measures; the true number may be higher. For many of them, life is still tough, without the social safety net and opportunities of urban dwellers.

The faces that flashed by were often older, too. Few villagers in their 20s or 30s stay on the land. Many move into towns of new five- and six-story apartments that jut out of the countryside.

"A decade or so ago, it might have been possible for a foreign reporter to go to one of the towns along the line and talk to residents. But with the Covid restrictions on journalists at the Games, it is impossible for us [to] ask them in person about changes brought by the Games and the high-speed train. Even before Covid arrived, reporting in China was increasingly difficult…

Residents Felt Proud of the High-speed Train and the Games

"In phone interviews, residents living near the rail line said that they felt proud of the new high-speed train and the Games, but also distant from the hoopla."

"The high-speed line hasn't had an impact on business, because the two years of the pandemic make it a hassle everywhere," said Xiu Li, who runs a fish and donkey-meat restaurant in Donghuayuan, near the line. "I've watched some of the Winter Olympics but haven't paid particular attention – just taking a look when it's on TV."

"The train began pulling up into the mountains. We passed through another tunnel – one of eight along the journey – and emerged into high country, usually barren brown at this time of year. An announcement said we were at arriving…" Happily, the reporters concluded their eye-opening journey. ("Aboard China's fastest Olympics showcase". The New York Times. Monday, February 21, 2022)

Conclusion

Joe Biden's policy of containing China is self-defeating: It also isolates him from his "rival". It deprives him and his high-level officials of a great opportunity to understand the other party, let alone improving Sino-US bilateral relations.

This article by the two American journalists certainly attests to the thesis that the president's policy of containment and boycotting tactics would only wrap him up in a white house of cocoon, depriving him of a global perspective.

 

The author is a freelance writer; formerly Adjunct Lecturer, taught MBA Philosophy of Management, and International Strategy, and online columnist of 3-D Corner (HKU SPACE), University of Hong Kong.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.

Read more articles by Augustus K. Yeung:

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